Newsletter n° 36 (29 September 2016)

Dear friends,

The worry provoked by the situation, not only of our country, but also of the world in general, should encourage us to meditate seriously on the words of Our Lady in the secret which She confided to the three little shepherds at Fatima on the 13th of July 1917 : « If you do what I tell you, many souls will be saved and there will be peace. (…) If my wishes are fulfilled, Russia will be converted and there will be peace. » Twice on the same day, Our Lady affirmed that if we did what she asked, the world would find peace ! If we really wanted to have peace, therefore, we should make sure that Our Lady’s requests have really been satisfied. But, what are these requests ?

The terms used in the first sentence (« If you do what I tell you ») give an idea of the requests to come, namely : « I will come to ask for the consecration of Russia to my Immaculate Heart and the communion of reparation on the first Saturdays of the month. » On the other hand, the expression in the second sentence (« If my wishes are fulfilled ») could refer to all previous requests. Now, just before speaking about the consecration of Russia and the first Saturdays of the month, Our Lady made two other requests : « I want you (…) to continue saying the Rosary every day in honour of Our Lady of the Rosary in order to obtain peace in the world » and « Make sacrifices for sinners and say often, especially each time you make a sacrifice : ‘’O, Jesus, this is for love of Thee, for the conversion of sinners, and in reparation for the offenses committed against the Immaculate Heart of Mary’’ ».

Newsletter n° 35 (14 September 2016)

Note : We apologize for this late sending, because we are not numerous enough to translate the newsletters.

Dear friends,

Now that the holidays are over, we find ourselves once again faced with the sad realities of daily life and the legitimate worry caused by the current state of our country. A lot of people are struggling to try to bring the situation back to normal and to restore peace. Everyone offers his own ideas and there is hardly an organisation or a community which has not suggested something. Unfortunately, at the centre of this concert of propositions, all doubtless very relevant on a temporal level, it is very sad to see that one solution is systematically overlooked : that given by Our Lady at Fatima. Moreover, we know that it is infallible. So why turn away from it ?

Recall what the Angel of Peace said during the apparition of summer 1916 : « In every way you can, offer God a sacrifice in reparation for the sins by which He is offended, and in supplication for the conversion of sinners. In this way, you will bring peace to your country. »

The following year, on the 13th of May, during Her first apparition, the Holy Virgin asked : « Say the Rosary every day, to bring peace to the world. » Apart from the fact that it is Our Lady’s very first request, it is also the only request made that day : therefore, it is particularly important.

Our Lady would repeat it almost word for word two months later, during the third apparition on the 13th of July 1917 : « I want you to (…) continue to say the Rosary every day in honour of Our Lady of the Rosary, to have peace in the world, and an end to the war, because only She (Our Lady of the Rosary) can obtain it. ( … ) If what I say is done, many souls will be saved and there will be peace. »

Newsletter n° 34 (31th of August 2016)

Dear Friends,

One question which is often asked regarding the words pronounced by the Holy Virgin at Fatima : how much credit should we give to them ? As, apart from what Our Lady said about hell (see newsletter n°33), certain words are full of hope, but are also surprising :

« He (Jesus) wants to establish the devotion to my Immaculate Heart in the world. I promise salvation to whoever embraces this devotion. » (13th of June) (See newsletters n°5 and n°29)

« Say the Rosary every day to obtain peace in the world and an end to the war. » (13th of May and the 13th of July) (See newsletters n°2 and n°31)

« To prevent it (the war), I will come to ask for the consecration of Russia to my Immaculate Heart and the communion of reparation on the first Saturdays of the month. » (13th of July) (See newsletter n°17)

Were these words really said by Our Lady in person, as Sister Lucia has always affirmed ? Here is the response given by the Vatican in the Theological Commentary which can be found in the file published with the third secret, on the 26th of June 2000. (See the document on the Vatican file) :

Newsletter n°31 – July 13th, 2016

Dear friends,

On July 13th, 1917, Our Lady repeated for the third time that the Rosary had to be recited every day. She will say it again during the three following apparitions. Thus, during all of the six apparitions of 1917, Our Lady will ask (we can almost say “claimed”) the daily recitation of the Rosary.

May 13th, 1917: "Recite the Rosary every day in order to obtain peace for the world and the end of the war."

June 13th, 1917: "I wish you […] to pray the Rosary every day."

July 13th, 1917: "I want you […] to continue reciting the Rosary every day in honor of Our Lady of the Rosary, in order to obtain peace in the world and the end of the war, because only She can help you."

August 13th, 1917: "I want you to […] continue praying the Rosary every day."

September 13th, 1917: "Continue to pray the Rosary in order to obtain the end of the war."

October 13th, 1917: "May you continue always to pray the Rosary every day."

Newsletter n° 33 (16 August 2016)

Dear friends,

If the apparition of the 13th of August 1917 is extraordinary, it is because it was, so to speak, an « apparition without seers » (see newsletter n°8), and that of the following 19th of August also has a very distinctive character : for the third time, Our Lady spoke about hell.

Nowadays, hell is a subject about which little is said, and even considered as occult. Some clerics go as far as to deny its existence or declare that if it does exist, it is empty. And to treat such a subject in this newsletter would probably cause a series of cancelled subscriptions. However, if the message of Fatima is to be presented honestly and completely, it is impossible to ignore it because the Holy Virgin would not have spoken about it to the little shepherds if the subject was not important. It is equally difficult to imagine that Our Lady made a mistake in speaking about hell. Here, then, are all the words pronounced by the Holy Virgin at Fatima on the subject of hell :

On the 13th of July, just after the vision of hell : « You have seen hell, where the souls of poor sinners go. It is to save them that God wants to establish in the world the devotion to my Immaculate Heart. »

In the prayer that she taught just after : « O my Jesus, forgive us. Save us from the fire of hell, lead all souls to heaven, especially those who are most in need. »

On the 19th of August : « Pray, pray very much and make sacrifices for sinners. Many souls go to hell because they have no-one to pray and make sacrifices for them. »

Following this, the little seers did not cease to meditate on hell, particularly Jacinta, whose great sensitivity meant that she had a deeper perception of Fatima’s message. In her third memoir Sister Lucia explains why Jacinta attached such importance to the vision of hell :

The vision of hell had horrified her to the point that all penances and mortifications seemed so little, to be able to save some souls from hell.

And so, I am now going to reply to another question which has been sent to me from different places : How was it that Jacinta, who was still so little, could possess such a spirit of mortification and penance and understand the value of it ?

Newsletter n° 32 (31 July 2016)

Dear friends,

One question which sometimes comes up between connaisseurs of Fatima is this : is the rosary part of the devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary ? In fact, on the 27th of December 1957, Sister Lucia confided to Father Fuentès : « She {the Holy Virgin} said, to my cousins as well as to myself, that God was giving the two last remedies to the world : the Holy Rosary and the devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, and these being the last two remedies, meaning that there will be no others. » Sister Lucia’s expression, « two remedies : the Rosary and the devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary », seems to indicate clearly that the two devotions are distinct and therefore that the Rosary is not, correctly speaking, part of the devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

A similar objection was made during a conference given recently as part of the centenary of the apparitions at Fatima : as the Holy Virgin only asked for the consecration of Russia, can it be said that individual consecrations are part of the devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary ?

Father Alonso, one of the best connaisseurs of Fatima in his time, responded to this objection :

At Fatima, the Virgin only asked for the consecration of Russia on purpose, it being the most efficent means for its conversion and for peace in the world. But it is obvious that this consecration of Russia must be preceded by the intense and widespread practice of individual and collective consecrations. The consecration of Russia will only come about as the fruit of an intense and generalised consecration of all the members and all the groups of the Church. This is why – as Pope Pius XII and Pope Paul VI understood and expressed – it is necessary that the faithful begin by making their personal consecration and by practising it intensely. It is the best way of hastening the triumphal hour of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, and the coming of the Kingdom of God on this earth.

Here, it should be noted : if on the 13th of June and the 13th of July 1917 Our Lady confided to the little shepherds that « God wants to establish throughout the world the devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary » (see newsletters n°4 and n°29), She does not specify what this devotion consists of. Accordingly, we can only conclude it from the different requests She made, not only at Fatima but also at Pontevedra and Tuy. In these apparitions, she asked for five practices, of which only three are linked, more or less explicitly, with the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Two of these are included in the secret of the 13th of July : the consecration of Russia and the communion of reparation on the first Saturdays of the month ; and the third : sacrifices for the conversion of sinners, appears in the prayer taught just after.

The two other practices : the daily recitation of the Rosary and the wearing of the scapular, were asked for at Fatima but without specifying any direct link with the Immaculate Heart of Mary. However, on the 15th of October 1950 Sister Lucia told Father Rafferty (see newsletter n°21) : « The scapular is the sign of our consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. ( … ) The scapular and the Rosary are inseparable. » Consequently, the scapular and the Rosary are, implicitly, part of the devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

Moreover, the recitation of the Rosary was asked for six times, whereas the consecration of Russia was asked for only once. It would be paradoxical, to say the least, if the practice which was asked for the most not be included in the devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Therefore, to be devoted to Our Lady’s Immaculate Heart, how can we not begin by reciting the prayer which most pleases Her ?

Note also that none of these five practices is new. On the contrary, all of them were already established in the Church well before the apparitions at Fatima.

The first request for a consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary dates from the 3rd of Decembre 1836 when Abbé Desgenettes heard an interior voice asking him to consecrate his parish to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. (see newsletter n°22)

On the 16th of July 1251, Our Lady appeared to Saint Simon Stock and presented him with a scapular saying : « Those who die wearing this habit will be saved from eternal hellfire. » (see the History of the Scapular)

In 1214, Our Lady appeared to Saint Dominic asking him to spread the recitation of the Rosary and promising, through it, numerous graces.

The communion of the first Saturdays of the month was even already in practise in the Church before Fatima. Abbé Desgenettes listed it in the statutes of the association he created. And on the 1st of July 1905, Saint Pius X accorded a plenary indulgence to the twelve first Saturdays fulfilled in honour of the Immaculate Conception. Then, on the 13th of June 1912, he officially approved the practice of the first Saturdays of the month and accorded a plenary indulgence applicable to souls in Purgatory to all those who fulfilled the exercises of devotion in honour of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, in reparation for the blasphemies against Her name and Her prerogatives. (see newsletter n°15 and the document on this subject)

Finally, making sacrifices for the conversion of sinners is a practice which goes back to the times of the Apostles ! For example, at the end of the Epistle of Saint James (V : 19-20), the Apostle tells us : « that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins ». (see newsletters n°6 and n°7)

Thus, Our Lady simply reminded us of a few practices close to our hearts. Therefore it makes sense to consider that they are linked to the devotion to Her Immaculate Heart. Also, during this year which will take us into the centenary of the apparitions at Fatima, we should work at making these five practices our own. Not only will we accomplish the will of God, but we will assure our salvation, we will convert sinners and we will bring peace to our country.

In union of prayer in the Immaculate Heart of Mary,

Yves de Lassus,President, Cap Fatima 2017.

Miscellaneous information

Don’t forget : this Saturday is the first Saturday of the month of August. To help us with the quarter-hour of meditation to do that day, meditations on the fifteen mysteries of the Rosary have been put on this website (click HERE for the french version).

The 8th of September, the feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, is another fine date to consecrate yourself to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. The preparation for this consecration will begin on the 8th of August. Therefore, there is still time to register.

Since the last newsletter (13 August), two terrorist attacks have plunged France into mourning. Pray for the repose of the souls of the victims. Different members of the government or religious authorities have suggested measures to eradicate the scourge of these attacks. Without seeming to criticise these measures, no-one has, unfortunately, remembered this first measure which should be taken, which would assure us of peace : the consecration of France, or at least, the dioceses of France, to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. (See newsletter n°16)

Hardly a week goes by without one of you thanking us for the work undertaken by the small team of Cap Fatima 2017. Those persons will find here the expression of our gratitude, even if their praises sometimes put our humility to the test. Because all we do is to give that which we have received, following the example of Saint Paul in his first epistle to the Corinthians (see this Sunday’s reading in the extraordinary rite). We hope that we are not alone to do this, and that there are many readers who, in their turn, transmit that which they receive from these letters, for example, by printing them and sending them to those who do not have internet. Another easy way to give that which you have received is to forward this letter to your parents and friends, and sending us a copy of your email so that thereafter we can send them the newsletters direct.

Do not hesitate to ask us for posters or images to make known the /le-projet/198-documents-sur-cap-fatima-2017devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, or as a reminder that we are henceforth in the year preceding the centenary of the apparitions at Fatima. (See the presentation of these documents HERE)

Newsletter n° 30 (28th June 2016)

Dear friends,

This year 2016, the month of July will be under the special patronage of the Hearts of Jesus and Mary. In fact, 1st July will be both the Feast day of the Precious Blood and the First Friday of the month. On 2nd July, we will celebrate the Feast of the Visitation and the First Saturday of the month as well. Therefore, let us not miss the opportunity to offer this first Friday and this first Saturday of the month to the two Hearts of Our Lord and of Our Lady.

On this subject, it is appropriate to clarify an aspect of the devotion of the First Saturday of the month. While the four first practical conditions are well-known, i.e. Confession, Communion, Rosary and 15 minutes of meditation, it is however important to remember the fifth condition: to fulfill these conditions to make amends for the sins perpetuated against the Immaculate Heart of Mary.On that particular aspect, some people have expressed some reservations. For some, the intention behind these First Saturdays of the month should not be a spirit of reparation but rather an attitude of trust in the love shown to us by the Heart of our Mother in Heaven and above all by the Heart of Her Divine Son. For others, the reparation would be an effort to make amends for our faults or those of others. It would then imply a kind of justice, whereas the relationship with Our Lady should rather be full of a spirit of love and mercy.

We do not want to question the goodness behind those observations. However, on 13th July 1917, Our Lady clearly said: « I will come to request the consecration of Russia to my Immaculate Heart and the Communion of reparation on the First Saturday of the month. » Of course, our love for Our Lord and Our Lady must certainly prevail and inspire all our devotions. However, it is not possible to separate the spirit of reparation from the devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. In fact, in Fatima, the word “reparation” was indeed used both by the Angel (in Summer and Autumn 1916) and Our Lady (13th may and 13th July 1917).

During Summer 1916, the Angel asked the children: « Offer to God a sacrifice of whatever you can as an act of reparation for the sins by which He is offended and as a plea for the conversion of sinners. »In Autumn, he taught this prayer to the little shepherds: « Most Holy Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Ghost, I adore Thee profoundly and offer Thee the most precious Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus-Christ, present in all the tabernacles of the earth, in reparation for the insults, sacrileges and indifference with which He is Himself offended. »As for Our Lady, on 13th May 1917, she asked them: « Do you want to offer yourselves to God to bear all the sufferings that He wills to send you, as an act of reparation for the sins by which He is offended and as a plea for the conversion of sinners? »On 13th July 1917, she taught them this prayer: « Sacrifice yourselves for sinners, and often say, especially each time you will make a sacrifice: “O Jesus, it is for love of You, for the conversion of sinners and in reparation for the sins committed against the Immaculate Heart of Mary.” »

Let us note that, on 13th May, Our Lady uses the same expression as the Angel did the year before: to offer sacrifices « an act of reparation for sins by which Jesus is offended.» On the other hand, on 13th July, she requests sacrifices to atone for sins committed against her Heart.

Subsequently, the Infant Jesus and Our Lady will mostly refer to reparation for sins perpetuated against the Immaculate Heart of Mary. On 10th December 1925, in Pontevedra, the Infant Jesus said to Sister Lucia: « Have compassion on the Heart of your very Holy Mother. It is surrounded by thorns that ungrateful men constantly pierce Her Heart with, while nobody makes an act of reparation to remove them.»Then, the Holy Virgin said: « See, my daughter, my Heart surrounded by thorns because ungrateful men unremittently pierce my Heart with their blasphemies and ungratefulness. You, at least, try to console me and let people know that anyone who: on the first Saturday, for five consecutive months, will go to confession; receive Holy Communion; pray a Rosary; stay in my presence for fifteen minutes while meditating on the fifteen mysteries of the Rosary, in a spirit of reparation. I promise that they will be assisted by me at the hour of death and will be granted all the graces necessary for the salvation of their soul.»

A little while later, on 15th February 1926, the Infant Jesus told her again: « The souls who pray fervently on the five first Saturdays of the month, in order to make reparation to the Heart of your Mother in Heaven, are more pleasing to me than those who practice this devotion over fifteen Saturdays with lukewarmness and indifference. » Also, referring to confession, He added: « When going to confession before the first Saturday, may it also be done as reparation to the Sacred Heart of Mary. »

Finally, on 13th June 1929, Our Lady will mention it again: « So great is the number of souls condemned by God’s justice for sins perpetuated against me that I have come to ask for reparation. Sacrifice yourself for this intention and pray. »

Moreover, during the same period, in Poitiers, Our Lord was instructing Sister Josepha Menendez in a similar way. This is, for example, what He told her on 15th February 1922: « Sinners increase divine anger whereas souls who love Me, who sacrifice themselves and consume themselves as victims of reparation, attract God’s Mercy. And that is what saves the world. » (extract from “Un appel à l’amour”)

Our Lord and Our Lady ask us very clearly to make amends for the sins committed against the Hearts of Jesus and Mary. Doesn’t Our Lord tell us that, if we make these acts of reparation, “we will save the world”!Indeed, this spirit of reparation is in no way incompatible with an exchange of love. It is quite the opposite. Let us try to use an example to illustrate our point. Let us imagine that someone we love very much loses something particularly dear to them. Wouldn’t we surround them with all our love to comfort them? However, wouldn’t it move them even more if we also offered them something to replace at least partially what was lost? The compensation would certainly not be full. Nevertheless, in addition to easing the loss endured, this action will also have the merit of showing our affection in a very practical way. Therefore, the reparation is not only an act of justice which atones for a prejudice. It is also a way of proving in a practical way the love that we bear to people who suffer affliction. Why would it be any different regarding Our Lady?

Consequently, next Saturday, let us practice what Our Lady requests not only with all our heart but also with a true spirit of reparation.

Newsletter n° 29 (13th June 2016)

Dear friends,

On this day, next year, we will celebrate the centenary of the apparition which happened on 13th June 1917. During that apparition, Our Lady made this extraordinary revelation: « Jesus wants to establish in the world the devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.»

The year before, the Angel of Peace had already prepared the little shepherds for this request. Three times, the Angel of Peace had spoken to them about the Immaculate Heart of Mary:

- In Spring 1916: «The Hearts of Jesus and Mary are attentive to the voice of your supplications. »

- During Summer 1916: « The Hearts of Jesus and Mary have designs of mercy on you.»

- In Autumn 1916: « I pray for the conversion of poor sinners through the infinite merits of His Holy Heart [Jesus’ Heart] and of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.»

And on 13th July 1917, the Holy Virgin reiterated almost word for word the request she had made one month before. The expression “Immaculate Heart” will be used six times by Our Lady: twice on 13th June and four times on 13th July.

Newsletter n° 28 (28 May 2016)

Dear friends,

Throughout the history of Fatima, the date of 29th May 1930 isn’t well known. However, it is an important date, almost as important as 13th May or 13th October 1917. A few days before 29th May 1930, the Holy Virgin appeared to Lucia who was then a novice with the Dorothy’s sisters in Tuy. Our Lady wanted to inform her that the time had come to ask the Holy Father to recognize the communion of reparation on the first Saturdays of the month.

This request was the ou0tcome of various celestial interventions since 1917:

1) On 13th July 1917 in Fatima, Our Lady confided a secret in the little seers. In this secret she announced the following: “I will come to ask for the consecration of Russia to my Immaculate Heart and for the communion of reparation on the first Saturdays of the month.” (see the message of Fatima)

The Miracle of the Sun, which took place on the 13th of October 1917, is far from being the only element which makes the apparitions at Fatima exceptional. Several other characteristics distinguish these apparitions from all others, in particular the prophecies which Our Lady confided to the little seers.

These prophecies are important, because they are an absolutely infallible mark of the divine origin of the message. Only God can know the future. Saint Thomas teaches :

The revelation of future events are the most rigorous part of the prophecy ; the name ‘prophecy’ even seems to come from this. Saint Gregory was thus able to write : « Prophecy, whose nature is to predict the future, loses the meaning of its name when it speaks in the past or the present. » (Summa Theologica, IIa-IIae, q. 171, art. 3)

To know future events is proper to divine intelligence, in whose eternity all things are present ; therefore, such knowledge of the future cannot come from nature, but only from divine revelation. (Summa Theologica, IIa-IIae, q.172, art.1)

It is now one hundred years since the Angel of Peace spoke for the first time to the little shepherds of Fatima in order to teach them a short prayer : « My God, I believe, I adore, I hope and I love You. I ask pardon for those who do not believe, do not adore, do not hope and do not love You. »It is very interesting to observe the parallel between this first teaching from the Angel and that of the Holy Virgin the following year during her first apparition. The two dialogues begin in almost the same way. The Angel says : « Fear not. I am the Angel of Peace. » And Our Lady says : « Fear not. I won’t harm you. » Our Lady then asks Lucia : « Will you offer yourselves to God and bear all the sufferings He sends you, in atonement for all the sins that offend Him, and for the conversion of sinners ? »The wording is different from that used by the Angel, but the meaning is the same : to ask for pardon for sinners and to make reparation for the sins they have committed. The Angel expresses himself in the imperative by preceding and following the prayer he’s teaching with two commands : « Pray with me. » and « Pray in this way. »Our Lady does it using the interrogative : « Will you offer yourselves to God … » The Angel asks for an act of obedience, Our Lady, for an act of self-will, which is logical, as since the spring of the preceding year, the little seers have had the time to reflect on the Angel’s words. Our Lady can therefore ask them to commit themselves.

People have always consecrated themselves to Our Lady. For example in his Traité de la vraie dévotion à la Sainte Vierge, Saint Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort teaches why and how to consecrate oneself to the Holy Virgin. However, the first request from Heaven concerning a consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary was not made until 1836. On the 3rd of December that year, the priest at Notre Dame des Victoires in Paris - Abbé Charles-Eléonore Dufriche Desgenettes, heard an interior voice saying, « Consecrate your parish to the Most Holy and Immaculate Heart of Mary.» (See Newsletter n°18) This very first request concerning a consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary shows that Our Lady wishes, firstly, the consecration of parishes. Unfortunately, such a consecration often comes up against two difficulties.

First difficulty : A few people have remarked that many churches, especially in France, are already consecrated to Our Lady. So, are those which are already consecrated to Mary, not consecrated to Her Immaculate Heart as well? Consequently, for them, the parishes whose church is consecrated to Our Lady would have no need to be consecrated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. The Holy Virgin replied to this objection Herself, because in expressing Her desire to see parishes consecrated to her Immaculate Heart, She chose a parish … already dedicated to Our Lady !

In the previous newsletter, we saw everything that the Angel had taught to the little shepherds during the course of his first apparition : not only a prayer, but also the attitude to adopt in real prayer, to whom it should be addressed so that it can be effective, and what will be the fruits thereof. Next, we come to the text itself of this short prayer.

« My God, I believe, I adore, I hope and I love You. » By this, the angel indicates that which is our first duty : adoration, and the exercise of the three theological virtues. These virtues incline us towards living in relation with the Holy Trinity. They have God as their origin, motive and objective. (Catechism of Pope Saint Pius X.) They are at the summit of all the virtues, because they specifically determine our union with God, particularly Charity.

The Angel continues : « I ask pardon for those who do not believe, do not adore, do not hope and do not love You. » This request is one of the central points of the message of Fatima, perhaps even the most important. (See letters n°3 and n°7.) What is being said here? That there are people who are not pleasing to God because they don’t adore Him and ignore the theological virtues ? Is there any situation more unhappy than this ? The Angel teaches us that we can get people out of this situation by asking that they be pardoned.

Of the five aspects of the devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary (see the file on this subject), only two demand a little effort. Moreover, all Catholics should have the desire to put them into practise. Namely : the consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, and wearing the scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. We’ve already discussed in detail the consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary (see in particular newsletters 5, 13, 16, 19). Today, we’ll examine wearing the scapular.

The request to wear the scapular does not figure among the oral demands of Our Lady. However, She made it clear on the 13th of October, during Her sixth apparition : at the end of this apparition, the Holy Virgin actually appeared with the features of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, as She had announced during Her previous apparition, and She held a scapular in Her hand. Sister Lucia attached a very great importance to this. When she was asked what made her think that it concerned Our Lady of Mount Carmel, she replied « Because something was dangling from her hand. »

The Angel of Peace

« Fear not ! I am the Angel of Peace. » There is, in this first phrase, a resonance which is wholly evangelical. In fact, in the presence of an angel, witnesses are always stupefied. And, as to Zachary in the Temple of Jerusalem (Luke I,13), to the Holy Virgin in the House of Nazareth (Luke I,30), to the shepherds at Bethlehem (Luke II,10), to the women who came to the tomb (Matthew XXVIII,5 ; Mark XVI,6), the Angel begins by saying : « Do not beafraid. »

Moreover, here, he gives his name : « I am the Angel of Peace.» In our world which is at present so tormented by wars and troubles of all kinds, God has sent us the Angel of Peace to instruct us. Isn’t it necessary, more than ever, to follow the recommendations that he gave us a hundred years ago now.

And what does he ask ? « Pray with me. » He reiterates his request just before disappearing, saying « Pray in this way. » A messenger from God came, not only to teach us how to pray, but also to pray ‘’with’’ us. As the Gospel tells us, Angels always behold the face of God (Matthew XVIII,10). Is it possible to have a master better placed to teach us how to pray ? His brief apparition taught us several things : the suitable bearing for prayer, the prayer itself, the fruits of this prayer, and to whom it should be addressed.

The Angel’s Bearing

How does the Angel pray ? « Kneeling on the earth, he lowered his forehead tothe ground. » This is a teaching of great importance. Angel that he is, and despite his perfection, he doesn’t hesitate to pray, not only kneeling, but also lowering his forehead to the earth. What humility, even though he « was light » according to the expression used by Lucia in response to a question from Chanoine Barthas ! The first quality of prayer is humility. We see this perfectly in the parable of the Pharisee and the Publican. The Angel comes to remind us that, even for a being as perfect as an angel, before God’s majesty, it is seemly to adopt an attitude showing the greatest humility by kneeling, then lowering the forehead to the floor. From this moment, the little shepherds will imitate him. Lucia specifies in her second memoir : « Since then, we stay prostrate for a long time, repeating these prayers, sometimes just until we are fit to drop. »

The prayer taught by the Angel

What is the prayer that he teaches ? A prayer to ask for pardon for all the sins committed by men. We have already said how this prayer constituted an essential point of the message of Fatima (see newsletter n°3). This point is so important that we will come back to it in more detail in a future newsletter.

To whom is this prayer addressed ?

The angel then indicates to whom this prayer should be addressed : the Two United Hearts of Jesus and Mary. There again, is a reminder of a profound truth : the Hearts of Jesus and Mary are inseparable. Saint Jean Eudes had already underlined this point, and other preachers after him. Here, it is the Angel of Peace himself who tells us this.

The fruits of this prayer

If we pray in this way, said the Angel, Jesus and Mary «will be attentive to our supplications». What a marvelous promise ! Therefore, is it not fitting that we should do as Lucia, Francisco and Jacinta did spontaneously, and imitate the Angel in everything he did and said ? If we pray as the Angel taught them, then Jesus and Mary will be attentive to all our preoccupations, our worries about the future of the world in general and for our country in particular, to our fears for the threats menacing our family, our children, etc. Then, to be delivered from all these torments, so that peace returns to the world and to our country, pray in the way the Angel taught Lucia, Francisco and Jacinta : on our knees, foreheads to the ground, and repeating three times that short prayer.

Miscellaneous information

The site is currently undergoing several modifications aimed at making it clearer and easier to read. Henceforth, everything which concerns the five points of the devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary is brought together in a menu at the top right of every page on the site. For each of these points, different tabs give access to the different elements. For example :

*For the daily Rosary : short meditations to help you meditate on the different mysteries, different places where a rosary is recited for our country…

*For the first Saturdays of the month : longer meditations to help you meditate for fifteen minutes as asked for by Our Lady, different places where it is possible to have a Mass with an intention of reparation on the first Saturday of the month, …

*For the consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary : the file for preparation, different prayers for consecration, the registration form, …

Within this first menu, another menu brings together elements aimed at widening our knowledge of Fatima’s message and its story.

Finally, on the left, a third menu brings together general information about the project : its origin, how to support it, a contact form, the list of newsletters and the subjects treated therein, …

In this menu, a new tab has just been added to bring together all the information which has been sent to us about the different pilgrimages organised for 2017. If you have any information about these pilgrimages, whether they be of the parish, the diocese, organised by communities, … don’t hesitate to send it to us so that the greatest number of people possible can go to Fatima for the centenary.

Newsletter N°20 – 30 January 2016

Dear Friends,

On the 13th of July 1917, Our Lady confided to the little shepherds : « If men do not refrain from offending God, another and more terrible war will begin during the pontificate of Pius XI. When you see a night that is lit by a strange and unknown light, you will know it is the sign God gives you that He is about to punish the world with war and with hunger, and by the persecution of the Church and the Holy Father. »

Twenty years later, on the night of the 25th to the 26th of January 1938, the sky was aflame with a strange glow. From 9 o’clock in the evening until 2 o’clock in the morning, the night sky was illuminated with a red light. This phenomenon was perceived in most of the countries of Europe, from Norway to Gibraltar, from Portugal to Greece, as well as in North Africa and in the United States and Canada. At the time, everyone believed there was a gigantic fire. The next morning, all the newpapers were talking about it. The phenomenon was attributed to an aurora borealis. The Bulletin de la Société astronomique de France described it in the following way :

The recent attacks in Brussels have, unfortunately, shown us once more that the current situation is increasingly worrying. Now more than ever, we should remember what Sister Lucia confided to Father Aparacio (in her letter of the 20th of June 1939) : « Our Lady has promised to delay the scourge of war if this devotion [the devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary] was propagated and practised. We see her putting off this punishment in as much as efforts are made to spread it. » It is up to us, then, to spread it, and Our Lady will repel these attacks of terrorism. (See Newsletter n°16.)

It is now one year since the project for the centenary of the apparitions at Fatima started. In fact, it was on the 4th of April 2015 (a first Saturday of the month) that the inaugural letter was sent to around 600 people. (See inaugural letter.) Since then, around twenty newsletters have made it possible to recall the essential points of Fatima’s message. The number of truths stated is, moreover, one of the remarkable aspects of the apparitions at Fatima. In fact, during the course of nine apparitions (three by the Angel in 1916, and six by Our Lady in 1917), apart from prayer and sacrifices, more than twenty truths were mentioned and constitute what could be called ‘’ the little catechism of Fatima’’. Here are a few examples :

Most of us are convinced, without doubt, of the power of the devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Even so, during this period when rationalism reigns, it’s still useful to refresh our faith in this power with some concrete examples. The last newsletter gave us two : the consecration of a municipality in 1944 and the consecration of a parish in 1938. Some people complain that these are old examples, so here is one which happened less than ten years ago.It is the story of the miraculous cure of Bertille, a little girl of thirteen months, the eighth child in a family from the north of France whose parents had consecrated themselves to the Immaculate Heart of Mary on the day of their marriage. This example is particularly convincing, because the cure in question was obtained following prayers addressed specifically and essentially to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Here is a summary of the facts. (A more complete account given by Bertille’s father will be enclosed soon.)

During the course of the night of the 25th of March 2008, Bertille started to be sick. At daybreak, her lips began to turn blue. An ambulance was called and she was taken to pediatric emergency admissions, where she suffered a heart attack. She was saved in extremis but her condition was extremely worrying for the emergency room doctors, who diagnosed her with dilated cardiomyopathy. The parish priest was informed and arrived at the little patient’s bedside to administer the sacrament of confirmation, while her parents were kept in the waiting room, without any news.

With the consecrations of the 8th and the 25th of December, the number of people consecrated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary has risen slightly (by about a thousand). But it would be a shame to stop there : we have to keep promoting the consecration around us, and not only the consecration of individuals, but also that of communities. Because with the latter, we can attract graces for the whole community, even if not all of its members are personally consecrated to Our Lady. For example, the Portugese bishops consecrated Portugal in 1931 and 1938 ; Pope Pius XII consecrated the world on the 31st of October and the 8th of December 1942.

Here is a new example. In 1944, the villages of Saint Côme de Fresné, Asnelles and Meuvaines, situated a few kilometers from Arromanches (one of five ports chosen by the allies for the Normandy landings) urged their priest to consecrate the three villages to the Holy Virgin. The priest kept putting it off. Two days before the Landings, he finally agreed to do it. The three villages were consecrated to the Virgin Mary during the course of a public ceremony in front of Her statue in the village of Asnelles. On the morning of the Landings, an English brigade landed on the beaches situated just opposite the villages which were liberated at noon. Despite the tough battles, none of the villages were affected. The only person who died had left their village the week before the consecration ! (We have this story direct from one of the descendents of a family from this village.)

This month finds us at the beginning of the Year of Mercy. Our thanks to the Holy Father for having had the glad idea to begin this particular year under the auspices of the Immaculate Conception ! On this occasion, about 800 of us consecrated ourselves, or renewed their consecration, to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. What a wonderful day to consecrate ourselves to She who is without stain.

Henceforth, this gift that we have made of ourselves to Mary commits us to taking Her as our guide. However, is there something in particular that Our Lady asks of us for this Year of Mercy ? The answer is yes. In fact, on the 13th of July 1917, in the secret which she confided to the little seers she communicated two requests :

To prevent this [Our Lady speaks of the war and the persecutions of the Holy Father], I shall come to the world to ask that Russia be consecrated to my Immaculate Heart and for Communions of reparation on the first Saturdays of the month. If my wishes are fulfilled, Russia will be converted and there will be peace. If not, then Russia will spread her errors throughout the world, bringing wars and persecution of the Church.